Wilson finally publishes Door To My Eyes

Gasebalwe Seretse | Friday September 19, 2014 14:49

“I struggled to secure funds to publish the book because many potential financiers sent me from pillar to post until I decided to forget about them and finance the whole project myself,” he said.

The 200-page no-holds-barred memoir chronicles the challenges that he faced while growing up and the breakthroughs that he has experienced as an artist.

“The book is about me.  It’s about my journey through the corridors of art and life.  How I have lived it, how I have experienced it all and how I managed to transform all the negative forces life threw at me into what is seen on the walls of some houses and offices both locally and abroad,” Ngoni had said in an earlier interview. The artist said that 100 copies of the memoir have already been sold and his overseas fans have also started placing orders for the book.

“I am trying to find a way of selling the book to my fans in places like America and the United Kingdom, but I think it’s expensive, so I am going to make soft copies available online soon,” he said.

Ngoni has not yet decided the date for the launch of the controversial book, but hinted that it is possibly goino be launched next year.  The full time artist highlighted that going the self-publishing route has cost him a lot of money so at the moment, he is focusing on recovering financially.

“I sacrificed a lot of my time and finances working on the book so I am now forced to work hard and produce a lot of paintings so that I recover,” he said.

The Gaborone-based painter added that he is currently selling the book from the backpack and is prepared to do the knock-and-drop distribution method for fans in the city.

Last year, the artist shared snippets of the memoirs and it is clear that the language used is as colourful and engaging as the artist’s works.

In the memoirs, the artist talks about the physical, emotional and sexual abuse he suffered at the hands of a very close relative and an illicit sexual relationship he had with a teacher when he was only 10.

Interestingly, Ngoni somehow managed to wind back the hands of time and takes the reader through those heart-wrenching moments that he went through.

Currently, Ngoni’s book is receiving rave reviews from his Facebook friends who all agree that it is a riveting read.